Is Vinny Ocean still alive?

On September 14, 2009, the New York Daily News exposed Palermo's new life in witness-protection as a strip-club-operator in Houston, Texas.[5] He has been living under the name "James Cabella".[10] Houston Police alleged that Palermo's strip clubs were a source of drug dealing and prostitution in the Houston area. Palermo claimed that many of his Houston friends already knew of his past because of an A&E television special. He lived in a gated mansion in Houston.[11][12]